RV, Camping & Tailgating generator calculators
Away from hookups, generator sizing is a packing decision: every extra thousand watts is more weight, more noise and more fuel to haul. The RV air conditioner dominates the math — it is the reason the classic advice is "a 13,500 BTU roof unit needs at least a 3,500W generator or two paralleled 2,200W inverters". These calculators cover the roof AC by BTU rating, plus realistic bundles for tent camping, tailgating and mobile food service, itemized so you can see exactly what is in each total.
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RV Air Conditioner Generator Calculator (13.5K & 15K BTU)
RV AC generator sizing for 13,500 and 15,000 BTU roof units: sourced running and starting watts, the paralleled-inverter option, and soft-start kits for RVs.
Open calculator →Camping Essentials Generator Calculator
Camping generator sizing: an itemized ~200W bundle (12V cooler, lights, phones, fan) that a 2,000W inverter covers many times over — plus what changes the math.
Open calculator →Tailgating Generator Size Calculator
Tailgate generator sizing: itemized griddle-dominated bundle (~1,700W running, ~2,100W peak), the TV and blender math, and the quiet-inverter parking lot reality.
Open calculator →Food Truck Generator Size Calculator
Food truck generator sizing: an itemized service-hour load (~4,500W running, ~6,100W peak) across refrigeration and cooking, duty-cycle reality, and sizing honestly.
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Which calculator should I use?
RV owners should start with the air conditioner calculator — if the generator starts the roof AC, everything else in the rig is usually easy. Tent campers rarely need more than a quiet 2,000W inverter unit; the camping essentials bundle shows why. The tailgating bundle is griddle-dominated (cooking heat is the big draw), and the food truck page covers the step up to commercial equipment, where refrigeration and cooking overlap all day and the generator runs for hours at a time.
Running several of these at once? Themulti-appliance builder adds them up with the staggered-start surge math, and the outage scenarios cover the common combinations pre-built.